Gerald Maclennon's Blog, page 4
April 30, 2019
America's New Age of Anti-Reason
This short article by one Ray Williams seized my attention in the year 2014. In it, he explains the very real dangers of a nation being ruled by social media mentality. I believe Willams has hit the proverbial nail on the head. Ergo... I place it on my blog
We're creating a nation of dummies... angry dummies who feel they have the right, the authority and the need not only to comment on everything, but to make sure their voice is heard above the rest, and to drag down any opposing views through personal attacks, loud repetition and confrontation.
Bill Keller, writing in the New York Times argues that the anti-intellectual elitism is not an elitism of wisdom, education, experience or knowledge. The new elite are the angry social media posters, those who can shout loudest and more often, a clique of bullies and malcontents baying together like dogs cornering a fox. Too often it's a combined elite of the anti-intellectuals not those who can voice the most cogent, most coherent response.
Together they foment a rabid culture of anti-rationalism where every fact is suspect; every rational thought is the enemy; where critical thinking is a tool of the devil.
Keller also notes that the herd mentality takes over online; the anti-intellectuals become the metaphorical equivalent of an angry lynch mob when anyone either challenges one of the mob beliefs or posts anything outside the mob's self-limiting set of values.
This growing mob of imbeciles accepts without questioning, believes without weighing the choices, joins the pack because in a culture where convenience rules, real individualism is "too much hard work"... thinking takes too much time. It gets in the way of the immediacy of social media... of the online experience.
-- from an article by Ray Williams, Psychology Today, June 2014
We're creating a nation of dummies... angry dummies who feel they have the right, the authority and the need not only to comment on everything, but to make sure their voice is heard above the rest, and to drag down any opposing views through personal attacks, loud repetition and confrontation.
Bill Keller, writing in the New York Times argues that the anti-intellectual elitism is not an elitism of wisdom, education, experience or knowledge. The new elite are the angry social media posters, those who can shout loudest and more often, a clique of bullies and malcontents baying together like dogs cornering a fox. Too often it's a combined elite of the anti-intellectuals not those who can voice the most cogent, most coherent response.
Together they foment a rabid culture of anti-rationalism where every fact is suspect; every rational thought is the enemy; where critical thinking is a tool of the devil.
Keller also notes that the herd mentality takes over online; the anti-intellectuals become the metaphorical equivalent of an angry lynch mob when anyone either challenges one of the mob beliefs or posts anything outside the mob's self-limiting set of values.
This growing mob of imbeciles accepts without questioning, believes without weighing the choices, joins the pack because in a culture where convenience rules, real individualism is "too much hard work"... thinking takes too much time. It gets in the way of the immediacy of social media... of the online experience.
-- from an article by Ray Williams, Psychology Today, June 2014
ATLAS SHRUGGED THE WORLD: Another Look at Ayn Rand’s Classic
As long as a man draws breath, it is never too late to change one’s pattern of thinking – his paradigm of reasoning. Perhaps a Russian-born, Jewish woman has altered mine to some degree.
Case in point is the classic novel of Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, and her ingenious dramatization of her controversial social philosophy that came to be known as Objectivism. I remember well the frenzy of public reaction when this book was first released in 1957. The name, Ayn Rand, was the subject of many heated debates whenever and wherever learned men and women came together.
Unfortunately, I was only ten years old at that time with a brain full of mush, desperately seeking a philosophy of basic survival in a household dominated by my father, Neal Edward -- a poor man from a poor Scots-Irish family who demonstrated through his mannerisms and deeds that it was my destiny as his son to never hope for anything more in life than mediocrity. My so-called teenage rebellion took the form of an existential revolt against his abiding mindset. During that period of time, I did thumb through the book, Atlas Shrugged, but realized it was years beyond my comprehension. To be fair to the memory of my ‘old man,’ I must admit that he did teach me a noble work ethic. These were his words, “there is no reason for any able-bodied man to ever be on the public dole, son. There is no job too low... ditch digging, cleaning shitters, whatever. The biggest disgrace is to take charity just because you think you’re too damned good to get your hands dirty.”
He lived by those words… and so have I. Additionally, I must say, if not for the faith and encouragement of my mother and her parents, I probably would have been dragged down into the gutter by my father’s nonsensical lack of self-worth. Today, psychologists agree, for the most part, that male children tend to gain their self-esteem by drawing upon the honor and esteem of their fathers – the converse also being true.
By the time I did begin to discover my own identity, around twenty, I had drifted off into mysticism and the sort of hippie socialist mindset that Rand demonizes in her works; therefore, in obedience to the influence of my peers, I came to regard her as the enemy without even reading one chapter of her writings, nor investigating how and why she arrived at her motivational philosophy. That was my loss, and my penalty for dropping out of college after only one year of freshman prerequisites.
Now in my sixties, it is much too late in life for regrets. My mind is sharper than ever, but – as time and fate would have it – that brain is housed within a deteriorating shell.
Ayn Rand is the pseudonym for one Alisa Rosenbaum, born in Czarist Russia, witness to the Bolshevik Revolution, student of Marxist-Leninist indoctrination. At first, her intellectual power helped her gain access to the highest institutions of learning, but as the false altruistic ideal of communism took its natural path through Soviet society, her intelligence became a liability to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. She was ultimately denounced as one of the undesirables: a not-to-be-trusted member of the Intelligentsia.
It was then that she made her escape to the United States of America and to New York City specifically. Her mind continued its relentless search for meaning as she examined firsthand the practical applications of capitalism in a free society. Her education continued under the flag of personal liberty.
Drawing upon her real life experiences, she brought to her most famous of writings – Atlas Shrugged and its predecessor, The Fountainhead – an authenticity unparalleled by few other novelists of her time. The appeal of her writing is not just in the philosophical realm however. Her superior skill as an author causes the characters in her stories to take on real flesh. The reader is allowed to develop an intimate kinship with each lead, fully understanding the inner workings of his or her mind and the outward manifestation of such reasoning.
After reading the book, I understand the title. Atlas represents the great minds of the world, those who constitute the motive power of civilization: inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs, industrialists, business geniuses, revolutionary artists… basically those with the brain power and motivation to make life better not only for themselves but for the entire civilized world. Such great minds, according to the author, constitute Atlas, the Greek god who supports the world on his shoulders despite the fact that the majority of those living on the surface of the planet tend to hate Atlas because he is, in their words, “an unscrupulous capitalist, a fat cat, a greedy rich man, an exploiter of the weak, a man who lives like a king while the poor and needy wallow in their own despair, a man who has more money than he needs or deserves.”
Because of those perceived sins of Atlas, he is punished by a so-called just society by being taxed up to, and sometimes beyond, 50 per cent of his profits. Punitive regulations and controls are placed on him by corrupt politicians.
Ayn Rand asks the questions: What if Atlas reached the end of his patience? What would happen to civilization if Atlas decided on his own volition to no longer support the world? What if, Atlas shrugged and dropped the world? The results, as you can imagine, are disastrous, and that's where the story goes.
In 1961, if, instead of Lutheran Catechism class at fifteen, I had been taught the Objectivist philosophy, my life may have taken a much more prosperous direction but alas, I have dedicated the bulk of my years striving for that which I thought was righteousness in the eyes of the Judeo-Christian God – and in so doing, have reduced myself to a virtual pauper at the age of desired retirement. My Christian friends, relatives and associates assuage my frustration by telling me that my rewards, my crowns, will come to me in heaven. Maybe so… but it would be nice to achieve some more rewards while still walking upon the earth.
Throughout my life, many have said to me in disdain, “You, Logan, think you are better than anyone else!” That is incorrect. My goal, and that of Ayn Rand, is to “think better than anyone else.” It’s an unattainable goal but the nobility is in the trying. It is not unlike the Christian who aspires to be more Christ-like or the Jewish man or woman who aspires to implement Tikkun Olam, the healing and repairing of the world.
Returning to Ayn Rand’s hypothesis… Can Christian dogma hybridize with an Objectivist epistemology? Has it? I am not enough of a scholar to know. The indoctrination of my youth taught me that one of the greatest virtues is selflessness, not selfishness; and that a man’s noblest pursuit is to fulfill the needs of the poor and disenfranchised of society.
My Catechism teacher emphasized that such was the abiding philosophy of Jesus the Christ and that it was also required of me if I was to become one of his confirmed followers. Ayn Rand’s moral position, on first reading, seems to stand in direct opposition to the programming of my youth. The supreme hero of her novel – her übermensch, if you will – is a genius named John Galt. In two instances of Atlas Shrugged, he expresses Rand’s fundamental belief in succinct and to-the-point affirmations:
“I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
“[I refuse] to be born with any original sin. I have never felt guilty of my ability. I have never felt guilty of my mind. I have never felt guilty of being a man. I accepted no unearned guilt, and thus was free to earn and to know my own value.”
On level with Galt is an amazing woman, Dagny Taggart -- smart, shrewd, fearless -- a woman enjoying all the perks of leadership as CEO of Taggart Railroad Lines, a position she and her brother inherited upon the death of their father, and of which Dagny ultimately took full control when her brother's foolish decisions nearly plunge the company into ruin. Dagny Taggart is a woman before her time -- an icon of what women were destined to become three decades later. Author Ayn Rand saw the future.
The dominant themes of Atlas Shrugged are Rand’s answer to the questions: What would happen to the United States of America if the Marxist mindset took over all strata of government? What would happen if public education began to ingrain the doctrines of socialism into our children’s minds?
This is why I chose to step back in time to read Atlas Shrugged – because the voting majority of my country and yours has indeed been seduced by the false promises of redistribution of the wealth, by the utopian delusion that a strong, powerful central government can and will supply all needs to all people, no matter their social status.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, our ears were tickled by the Democratic candidate’s vocalized promise to provide all manners of comforts and securities for U.S. citizens regardless of race, creed, color, ethnic origins, sexual preference, motivation or ability to reason one’s way out of a soggy, cardboard box. It was a major expansion on the ages-old political ploy promising a chicken in every pot, a milk cow in every barn. And to receive these wonderful gifts, all one has to do is forfeit his liberties, bit by bit, one at a time. It smacks of cult leaders who have always known that there are plenty of sheep who are pleased to have someone else do their thinking for them.
Mental Blanks, as Rand calls them, are happy as long as they have their monthly public assistance check, their cable and satellite televisions, online streaming... as long as they have plenty of snacks, alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs, indiscriminate sexual opportunity, internet pornography and – most important of all, no bag of hot air telling them all such hedonistic pleasures are meaningless in the long run.
Atlas Shrugged remains just as significant today as when it was first published in 1957 – perhaps more so. It most definitely deserves its status as a classic of American literature if only for the fact that it requires the reader to employ a full measure of his critical thinking skills. For me, there was much more to like than to dislike in Atlas Shrugged. Any novel that pulls a person away from the mundane, from the tyranny of the dailies, and provokes him or her to think outside "socially acceptable" parameters, while couching it within a very compelling and entertaining story, is well worth one’s time commitment.
Gerald Logan MacLennon, 62, April 2009, Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Case in point is the classic novel of Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, and her ingenious dramatization of her controversial social philosophy that came to be known as Objectivism. I remember well the frenzy of public reaction when this book was first released in 1957. The name, Ayn Rand, was the subject of many heated debates whenever and wherever learned men and women came together.
Unfortunately, I was only ten years old at that time with a brain full of mush, desperately seeking a philosophy of basic survival in a household dominated by my father, Neal Edward -- a poor man from a poor Scots-Irish family who demonstrated through his mannerisms and deeds that it was my destiny as his son to never hope for anything more in life than mediocrity. My so-called teenage rebellion took the form of an existential revolt against his abiding mindset. During that period of time, I did thumb through the book, Atlas Shrugged, but realized it was years beyond my comprehension. To be fair to the memory of my ‘old man,’ I must admit that he did teach me a noble work ethic. These were his words, “there is no reason for any able-bodied man to ever be on the public dole, son. There is no job too low... ditch digging, cleaning shitters, whatever. The biggest disgrace is to take charity just because you think you’re too damned good to get your hands dirty.”
He lived by those words… and so have I. Additionally, I must say, if not for the faith and encouragement of my mother and her parents, I probably would have been dragged down into the gutter by my father’s nonsensical lack of self-worth. Today, psychologists agree, for the most part, that male children tend to gain their self-esteem by drawing upon the honor and esteem of their fathers – the converse also being true.
By the time I did begin to discover my own identity, around twenty, I had drifted off into mysticism and the sort of hippie socialist mindset that Rand demonizes in her works; therefore, in obedience to the influence of my peers, I came to regard her as the enemy without even reading one chapter of her writings, nor investigating how and why she arrived at her motivational philosophy. That was my loss, and my penalty for dropping out of college after only one year of freshman prerequisites.
Now in my sixties, it is much too late in life for regrets. My mind is sharper than ever, but – as time and fate would have it – that brain is housed within a deteriorating shell.
Ayn Rand is the pseudonym for one Alisa Rosenbaum, born in Czarist Russia, witness to the Bolshevik Revolution, student of Marxist-Leninist indoctrination. At first, her intellectual power helped her gain access to the highest institutions of learning, but as the false altruistic ideal of communism took its natural path through Soviet society, her intelligence became a liability to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. She was ultimately denounced as one of the undesirables: a not-to-be-trusted member of the Intelligentsia.
It was then that she made her escape to the United States of America and to New York City specifically. Her mind continued its relentless search for meaning as she examined firsthand the practical applications of capitalism in a free society. Her education continued under the flag of personal liberty.
Drawing upon her real life experiences, she brought to her most famous of writings – Atlas Shrugged and its predecessor, The Fountainhead – an authenticity unparalleled by few other novelists of her time. The appeal of her writing is not just in the philosophical realm however. Her superior skill as an author causes the characters in her stories to take on real flesh. The reader is allowed to develop an intimate kinship with each lead, fully understanding the inner workings of his or her mind and the outward manifestation of such reasoning.
After reading the book, I understand the title. Atlas represents the great minds of the world, those who constitute the motive power of civilization: inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs, industrialists, business geniuses, revolutionary artists… basically those with the brain power and motivation to make life better not only for themselves but for the entire civilized world. Such great minds, according to the author, constitute Atlas, the Greek god who supports the world on his shoulders despite the fact that the majority of those living on the surface of the planet tend to hate Atlas because he is, in their words, “an unscrupulous capitalist, a fat cat, a greedy rich man, an exploiter of the weak, a man who lives like a king while the poor and needy wallow in their own despair, a man who has more money than he needs or deserves.”
Because of those perceived sins of Atlas, he is punished by a so-called just society by being taxed up to, and sometimes beyond, 50 per cent of his profits. Punitive regulations and controls are placed on him by corrupt politicians.
Ayn Rand asks the questions: What if Atlas reached the end of his patience? What would happen to civilization if Atlas decided on his own volition to no longer support the world? What if, Atlas shrugged and dropped the world? The results, as you can imagine, are disastrous, and that's where the story goes.
In 1961, if, instead of Lutheran Catechism class at fifteen, I had been taught the Objectivist philosophy, my life may have taken a much more prosperous direction but alas, I have dedicated the bulk of my years striving for that which I thought was righteousness in the eyes of the Judeo-Christian God – and in so doing, have reduced myself to a virtual pauper at the age of desired retirement. My Christian friends, relatives and associates assuage my frustration by telling me that my rewards, my crowns, will come to me in heaven. Maybe so… but it would be nice to achieve some more rewards while still walking upon the earth.
Throughout my life, many have said to me in disdain, “You, Logan, think you are better than anyone else!” That is incorrect. My goal, and that of Ayn Rand, is to “think better than anyone else.” It’s an unattainable goal but the nobility is in the trying. It is not unlike the Christian who aspires to be more Christ-like or the Jewish man or woman who aspires to implement Tikkun Olam, the healing and repairing of the world.
Returning to Ayn Rand’s hypothesis… Can Christian dogma hybridize with an Objectivist epistemology? Has it? I am not enough of a scholar to know. The indoctrination of my youth taught me that one of the greatest virtues is selflessness, not selfishness; and that a man’s noblest pursuit is to fulfill the needs of the poor and disenfranchised of society.
My Catechism teacher emphasized that such was the abiding philosophy of Jesus the Christ and that it was also required of me if I was to become one of his confirmed followers. Ayn Rand’s moral position, on first reading, seems to stand in direct opposition to the programming of my youth. The supreme hero of her novel – her übermensch, if you will – is a genius named John Galt. In two instances of Atlas Shrugged, he expresses Rand’s fundamental belief in succinct and to-the-point affirmations:
“I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
“[I refuse] to be born with any original sin. I have never felt guilty of my ability. I have never felt guilty of my mind. I have never felt guilty of being a man. I accepted no unearned guilt, and thus was free to earn and to know my own value.”
On level with Galt is an amazing woman, Dagny Taggart -- smart, shrewd, fearless -- a woman enjoying all the perks of leadership as CEO of Taggart Railroad Lines, a position she and her brother inherited upon the death of their father, and of which Dagny ultimately took full control when her brother's foolish decisions nearly plunge the company into ruin. Dagny Taggart is a woman before her time -- an icon of what women were destined to become three decades later. Author Ayn Rand saw the future.
The dominant themes of Atlas Shrugged are Rand’s answer to the questions: What would happen to the United States of America if the Marxist mindset took over all strata of government? What would happen if public education began to ingrain the doctrines of socialism into our children’s minds?
This is why I chose to step back in time to read Atlas Shrugged – because the voting majority of my country and yours has indeed been seduced by the false promises of redistribution of the wealth, by the utopian delusion that a strong, powerful central government can and will supply all needs to all people, no matter their social status.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, our ears were tickled by the Democratic candidate’s vocalized promise to provide all manners of comforts and securities for U.S. citizens regardless of race, creed, color, ethnic origins, sexual preference, motivation or ability to reason one’s way out of a soggy, cardboard box. It was a major expansion on the ages-old political ploy promising a chicken in every pot, a milk cow in every barn. And to receive these wonderful gifts, all one has to do is forfeit his liberties, bit by bit, one at a time. It smacks of cult leaders who have always known that there are plenty of sheep who are pleased to have someone else do their thinking for them.
Mental Blanks, as Rand calls them, are happy as long as they have their monthly public assistance check, their cable and satellite televisions, online streaming... as long as they have plenty of snacks, alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs, indiscriminate sexual opportunity, internet pornography and – most important of all, no bag of hot air telling them all such hedonistic pleasures are meaningless in the long run.
Atlas Shrugged remains just as significant today as when it was first published in 1957 – perhaps more so. It most definitely deserves its status as a classic of American literature if only for the fact that it requires the reader to employ a full measure of his critical thinking skills. For me, there was much more to like than to dislike in Atlas Shrugged. Any novel that pulls a person away from the mundane, from the tyranny of the dailies, and provokes him or her to think outside "socially acceptable" parameters, while couching it within a very compelling and entertaining story, is well worth one’s time commitment.
Gerald Logan MacLennon, 62, April 2009, Rio Grande Valley, Texas
April 29, 2019
Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts
BLOODY SIXTEEN written by CDR Peter Fey, USN-retired, inspired me to buy and read FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER written by his friend and fellow Navy Pilot, Stephen Coonts.
The purchase was something I should have done 33 years ago when Coonts first published it. I don't recall why I did not. Perhaps it was because the movie, Flight of the Intruder, was so bad, I figured the book would be, also. Wrongo. The book is a great study on the emotions and attitudes of the pilots. I didn't realize they were as pissed off as I was regarding the s**t targets of North Vietnam... risking their lives, for example, by taking out a grove of trees where military trucks might be hiding... but usually weren't.
I looked at the Wikipedia page regarding this great book and the not-so-great film -- both entitled FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER. I had to chuckle when I read about Stephen Coonts' effort to get published, because I've 'been there, done that' as well. Back in the 80's, he sent manuscripts and letters of inquiry to 36 publishers... 30 refused to look at it, 4 rejected it, and today, he's still waiting to hear back from 2 of them. Ha, as if he really cares. Ultimately the book was published by United States Naval Institute Press, Annapolis. And as follow-up, Coonts received a valuable endorsement of his book by bestselling author, Tom Clancy, and then, unexpectedly, favorable comments by then sitting president, Ronald Reagan, which sent sales skyrocketing. Clancy endorsed Coonts. Coonts endorsed Fey.
I've often said... I wonder where the pilots went when in port at Subic & Cubi Point. Author Fey touched on it briefly... of course, the Cubi Officers Club. They were equal to us enlisted grunts... Hell, more so in drunken antics. Author Coonts goes into that in detail. Funny thing is... even though I lived at Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Philippines, for a year, I had no idea (still don't) where the Cubi Point Officers Club was located -- probably up on a distant hilltop surrounded by jungle... far out of earshot.
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER... here Coonts expressed the guilt he feels/felt for killing people who are not the real enemy, such as poor rice farmers. He talks about how easy, how sanitary it is, to release his bombs and fly away, noticing only a puff of smoke in the distance... and how he intentionally blocked thoughts of little girls' bodies being ripped apart by the force of the bomb explosions.
It does my heart good to know the pilots had these very human emotions. Once, during our 1967 deployment, my photo recon squadron mis-targeted a building. The photo interpreters said it was for ammunition storage. On our recommendation, the attack birds took it out. BDA revealed it could have been a schoolhouse full of kids. Unsure. That still bugs me... brings tears to my eyes. And I was not the pilot but I was one cog in the gears of the killing machine. Maybe if it really was a just war (by political science definition) I would have felt okay about the killing and destruction. Probably not.
[SPOILER ALERT]
I can understand why Jake Grafton (READ: Coonts) wanted to disobey orders by flying directly into downtown Hanoi, dropping his bombs on Communist Party Headquarters instead of dropping them on peasants who were just as horrified by the senselessness of the Vietnam Air War as Jake was... as I was.
You see, because president LBJ and his henchmen were micromanaging the war from the White House VIP dining room, the majority of strategic targets were declared off-limits. The general attitude among those fighting the damn war was, "Let's either fight to win or get the hell out of here."
1975, after the deaths of 58,000 Americans, Presidents Nixon and then Ford finally threw in the towel. What an embarrassment.
-- Gerald Logan MacLennon
The purchase was something I should have done 33 years ago when Coonts first published it. I don't recall why I did not. Perhaps it was because the movie, Flight of the Intruder, was so bad, I figured the book would be, also. Wrongo. The book is a great study on the emotions and attitudes of the pilots. I didn't realize they were as pissed off as I was regarding the s**t targets of North Vietnam... risking their lives, for example, by taking out a grove of trees where military trucks might be hiding... but usually weren't.
I looked at the Wikipedia page regarding this great book and the not-so-great film -- both entitled FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER. I had to chuckle when I read about Stephen Coonts' effort to get published, because I've 'been there, done that' as well. Back in the 80's, he sent manuscripts and letters of inquiry to 36 publishers... 30 refused to look at it, 4 rejected it, and today, he's still waiting to hear back from 2 of them. Ha, as if he really cares. Ultimately the book was published by United States Naval Institute Press, Annapolis. And as follow-up, Coonts received a valuable endorsement of his book by bestselling author, Tom Clancy, and then, unexpectedly, favorable comments by then sitting president, Ronald Reagan, which sent sales skyrocketing. Clancy endorsed Coonts. Coonts endorsed Fey.
I've often said... I wonder where the pilots went when in port at Subic & Cubi Point. Author Fey touched on it briefly... of course, the Cubi Officers Club. They were equal to us enlisted grunts... Hell, more so in drunken antics. Author Coonts goes into that in detail. Funny thing is... even though I lived at Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Philippines, for a year, I had no idea (still don't) where the Cubi Point Officers Club was located -- probably up on a distant hilltop surrounded by jungle... far out of earshot.
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER... here Coonts expressed the guilt he feels/felt for killing people who are not the real enemy, such as poor rice farmers. He talks about how easy, how sanitary it is, to release his bombs and fly away, noticing only a puff of smoke in the distance... and how he intentionally blocked thoughts of little girls' bodies being ripped apart by the force of the bomb explosions.
It does my heart good to know the pilots had these very human emotions. Once, during our 1967 deployment, my photo recon squadron mis-targeted a building. The photo interpreters said it was for ammunition storage. On our recommendation, the attack birds took it out. BDA revealed it could have been a schoolhouse full of kids. Unsure. That still bugs me... brings tears to my eyes. And I was not the pilot but I was one cog in the gears of the killing machine. Maybe if it really was a just war (by political science definition) I would have felt okay about the killing and destruction. Probably not.
[SPOILER ALERT]
I can understand why Jake Grafton (READ: Coonts) wanted to disobey orders by flying directly into downtown Hanoi, dropping his bombs on Communist Party Headquarters instead of dropping them on peasants who were just as horrified by the senselessness of the Vietnam Air War as Jake was... as I was.
You see, because president LBJ and his henchmen were micromanaging the war from the White House VIP dining room, the majority of strategic targets were declared off-limits. The general attitude among those fighting the damn war was, "Let's either fight to win or get the hell out of here."
1975, after the deaths of 58,000 Americans, Presidents Nixon and then Ford finally threw in the towel. What an embarrassment.
-- Gerald Logan MacLennon
April 23, 2019
Easter / Pesach 2019 & John Fugelsang
RE: John Fugelsang's famous "Jesus Quotes".
In my Hebraic studies I've had several revelations... Y'shua (his correct name in Aramaic, a contraction of Yahoshua/ Joshua) when compared to the right wing religious ruling party in Jerusalem (the Parushim / Pharisees) was indeed a liberal with radical ideas... like the simplicity by getting right with Ha Shem (G-D) without having to follow a long list of do's and don'ts and hundreds of Kashrut / Kosher petty rules and regs, especially dietary. That pissed off the religious elite who made big bucks off subjugated "commoners".
Then this rabbi from Ha Galil / the District (Galilee) had the cajones to kick the money changers and sacrificial dove sellers out of the Temple just before Pesach / Passover. No wonder the Jewish high priest, Kaiafas ben Yosef / Caiaphas, wanted this rebel strung up, crucified or simply 'disappeared'.
Rav. Y'shua did condone a communitarian (read: kibbutzim) lifestyle for his followers... the early Christian / Messianic / Nazarene / Ebionite communities did just that: held all things in common... from those according to their abilities to those according to their needs just as today's Kibbutz system in Yisrael does. Although, over the past half-century, they've become somewhat capitalist with their 4-star hotels.
One thing about the so-called New Covenant bothers me, though, and that is the fact that nobody, not even Y'shua, nor his disciples, nor the Apostle Paul condemned slavery. Regarding Paul, in this and other matters, some critics have cynically remarked he never met a status quo he didn't like.
Some of those comments in John Fugelsang's list are anachronistic silliness - not worth the effort to analyze. That said, I do enjoy actor/comedian Fugelsang's monologues even if we don't always agree.
G.Logan Apr 2019
In my Hebraic studies I've had several revelations... Y'shua (his correct name in Aramaic, a contraction of Yahoshua/ Joshua) when compared to the right wing religious ruling party in Jerusalem (the Parushim / Pharisees) was indeed a liberal with radical ideas... like the simplicity by getting right with Ha Shem (G-D) without having to follow a long list of do's and don'ts and hundreds of Kashrut / Kosher petty rules and regs, especially dietary. That pissed off the religious elite who made big bucks off subjugated "commoners".
Then this rabbi from Ha Galil / the District (Galilee) had the cajones to kick the money changers and sacrificial dove sellers out of the Temple just before Pesach / Passover. No wonder the Jewish high priest, Kaiafas ben Yosef / Caiaphas, wanted this rebel strung up, crucified or simply 'disappeared'.
Rav. Y'shua did condone a communitarian (read: kibbutzim) lifestyle for his followers... the early Christian / Messianic / Nazarene / Ebionite communities did just that: held all things in common... from those according to their abilities to those according to their needs just as today's Kibbutz system in Yisrael does. Although, over the past half-century, they've become somewhat capitalist with their 4-star hotels.
One thing about the so-called New Covenant bothers me, though, and that is the fact that nobody, not even Y'shua, nor his disciples, nor the Apostle Paul condemned slavery. Regarding Paul, in this and other matters, some critics have cynically remarked he never met a status quo he didn't like.
Some of those comments in John Fugelsang's list are anachronistic silliness - not worth the effort to analyze. That said, I do enjoy actor/comedian Fugelsang's monologues even if we don't always agree.
G.Logan Apr 2019
April 1, 2019
An Airdale's perspective on Peter Fey's Bloody Sixteen
Bloody Sixteen: The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 during the Vietnam War
The "Bloody Sixteenth" was my air wing (CVW-16) onboard the carrier USS Oriskany. My squadron was VFP-63 or Photo Reconnaissance Squadron-63. Now, thanks to retired naval aviator, Commander Peter Fey, I have a totally new understanding of that of which I was a part... and a newfound respect for the officers and pilots I rubbed shoulders with on a daily basis. I had no idea Operation Rolling Thunder and CVW-16 on CVA-34 were so historically significant - maybe no one at the time actually did. Maybe 50 years had to expire before military historians, such as Fey, could look back and see the big picture without the 'fog of war' obstructing the view.
Fey recalls that many of the pilots, same as many of the enlisted ranks, didn't talk much to others about their Vietnam experience once they rejoined civilian life. Older Americans of the mid-twentieth-century -- those that had hailed victories in Europe and the Western Pacific during World War II -- did not want to admit our nation could be defeated anywhere on the world stage.. but it was. To his credit author Peter Fey is quick to point out that our losses in Vietnam were due to no weakness of the men and women fighting the war; their strength and resolve remained true to the bitter end.
I thank you, Mister Fey, sir, for allowing me a privileged seat today on the tower of history. Up here, I can better see the entire sprawling vista. Because of Bloody Sixteen this old guy, who was a 20-year-old Petty Officer 3rd Class in 1967, has been allowed an eagle's eye view to events that influenced my entire life after Vietnam; and greatly influenced our nation's future decisions based on what we learned in the Vietnam War.
I think I first heard this bromide in a Filipino bar while chugging San Miguel beers with a shipmate... it goes like this: "The old war veterans talk about the glory of it. The politicians talk about the necessity of it. But, the soldiers and sailors living it... they just want to go home."
At 72, I now qualify as an old veteran but I still see very little glory in that war. I kept a daily diary throughout my 1967-68 cruise to Yankee Station, Gulf of Tonkin because I wanted to remember not only the glory... but all the disappointments too. And there's even more of that than I thought. Peter Fey details the sloppy mismanagement of the war by high-level military leaders; even more so by US President Lyndon Johnson, Secretary McNamara and the other "whiz kids" left over from JFK's administration. They met every Tuesday noon for lunch at the White House where strategy and targets were determined for the upcoming week without any Pentagon officers present. LBJ wanted to run the war without generals and admirals getting in the way.
Primary focus of Bloody Sixteen is on Commissioned Flight Officers of the US Navy, an elite brotherhood of aviation professionals. The book is a tactical analysis of their missions in the Vietnam War, individually and overall. The non-commissioned and enlisted men are generally relegated to their subservient status. As for the North Vietnamese, during the three years of Operation Rolling Thunder, it is estimated non-combatants (men, women, children) were killed at a rate of 1,000 per month. These human beings, mostly farmers, were generally seen as statistical consequences of war -- 'collateral damage' in military parlance. To me that seems cold-hearted. But then again, war is not about hugs and warm fuzzies.
In this story, passion, empathy, sympathy and tugs of the heart are reserved for naval aviators, their missions, their downings by AAA or SAM's, their status as KIA, MIA or POW and their US Naval Aviation legacies. If that's what you want in a book, then this is the book you want. Better than any video game, kids, this is war in the raw.
Bloody Sixteen is destined to become one of the best military histories of the Vietnam War. I wholeheartedly agree with naval aviator and best-selling author Stephen Coonts when he called Peter Fey's work, "Magnificent, superbly researched."
The "Bloody Sixteenth" was my air wing (CVW-16) onboard the carrier USS Oriskany. My squadron was VFP-63 or Photo Reconnaissance Squadron-63. Now, thanks to retired naval aviator, Commander Peter Fey, I have a totally new understanding of that of which I was a part... and a newfound respect for the officers and pilots I rubbed shoulders with on a daily basis. I had no idea Operation Rolling Thunder and CVW-16 on CVA-34 were so historically significant - maybe no one at the time actually did. Maybe 50 years had to expire before military historians, such as Fey, could look back and see the big picture without the 'fog of war' obstructing the view.
Fey recalls that many of the pilots, same as many of the enlisted ranks, didn't talk much to others about their Vietnam experience once they rejoined civilian life. Older Americans of the mid-twentieth-century -- those that had hailed victories in Europe and the Western Pacific during World War II -- did not want to admit our nation could be defeated anywhere on the world stage.. but it was. To his credit author Peter Fey is quick to point out that our losses in Vietnam were due to no weakness of the men and women fighting the war; their strength and resolve remained true to the bitter end.
I thank you, Mister Fey, sir, for allowing me a privileged seat today on the tower of history. Up here, I can better see the entire sprawling vista. Because of Bloody Sixteen this old guy, who was a 20-year-old Petty Officer 3rd Class in 1967, has been allowed an eagle's eye view to events that influenced my entire life after Vietnam; and greatly influenced our nation's future decisions based on what we learned in the Vietnam War.
I think I first heard this bromide in a Filipino bar while chugging San Miguel beers with a shipmate... it goes like this: "The old war veterans talk about the glory of it. The politicians talk about the necessity of it. But, the soldiers and sailors living it... they just want to go home."
At 72, I now qualify as an old veteran but I still see very little glory in that war. I kept a daily diary throughout my 1967-68 cruise to Yankee Station, Gulf of Tonkin because I wanted to remember not only the glory... but all the disappointments too. And there's even more of that than I thought. Peter Fey details the sloppy mismanagement of the war by high-level military leaders; even more so by US President Lyndon Johnson, Secretary McNamara and the other "whiz kids" left over from JFK's administration. They met every Tuesday noon for lunch at the White House where strategy and targets were determined for the upcoming week without any Pentagon officers present. LBJ wanted to run the war without generals and admirals getting in the way.
Primary focus of Bloody Sixteen is on Commissioned Flight Officers of the US Navy, an elite brotherhood of aviation professionals. The book is a tactical analysis of their missions in the Vietnam War, individually and overall. The non-commissioned and enlisted men are generally relegated to their subservient status. As for the North Vietnamese, during the three years of Operation Rolling Thunder, it is estimated non-combatants (men, women, children) were killed at a rate of 1,000 per month. These human beings, mostly farmers, were generally seen as statistical consequences of war -- 'collateral damage' in military parlance. To me that seems cold-hearted. But then again, war is not about hugs and warm fuzzies.
In this story, passion, empathy, sympathy and tugs of the heart are reserved for naval aviators, their missions, their downings by AAA or SAM's, their status as KIA, MIA or POW and their US Naval Aviation legacies. If that's what you want in a book, then this is the book you want. Better than any video game, kids, this is war in the raw.
Bloody Sixteen is destined to become one of the best military histories of the Vietnam War. I wholeheartedly agree with naval aviator and best-selling author Stephen Coonts when he called Peter Fey's work, "Magnificent, superbly researched."
March 25, 2019
If it is deceit, it certainly is well-crafted
The Day After Roswell After reading for a second time, Colonel Philip Corso's intriguing exposé, so to speak, of how the UFO crash in 1947 actually did occur... and why it was so quickly relegated to the deep darkness of military ultra-crypto classification... I must admit, if it is deceit, it certainly is well-crafted deceit.
Having worked in US Navy Fleet Intelligence during the Vietnam War, I am familiar with the "shop talk" that goes on inside such military departments as Colonel Corso describes in this riveting book.
His claims, along with well-researched documentation, give any skeptic-self included-serious food for thought. I've heard the many criticisms of Phil Corso and his revelation that several of humankind's scientific, electronic, communication advances in the last half of the twentieth century are linked to US Army Air Corps discoveries inside the unidentified air or space craft near Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947. Let the reader be the judge. Corso tells, in great detail, how alien technology was secretly dispersed to America's top civilian R&D labs and manufacturers - how it was back-engineered to become pivotal elements of the Computer Revolution.
After reading Corso's accounts, I'm left with more questions than answers... and, I must admit, a little bit spooked about what the future could be for my grandchildren in this new millennium... if his claims are indeed true.
Having worked in US Navy Fleet Intelligence during the Vietnam War, I am familiar with the "shop talk" that goes on inside such military departments as Colonel Corso describes in this riveting book.
His claims, along with well-researched documentation, give any skeptic-self included-serious food for thought. I've heard the many criticisms of Phil Corso and his revelation that several of humankind's scientific, electronic, communication advances in the last half of the twentieth century are linked to US Army Air Corps discoveries inside the unidentified air or space craft near Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947. Let the reader be the judge. Corso tells, in great detail, how alien technology was secretly dispersed to America's top civilian R&D labs and manufacturers - how it was back-engineered to become pivotal elements of the Computer Revolution.
After reading Corso's accounts, I'm left with more questions than answers... and, I must admit, a little bit spooked about what the future could be for my grandchildren in this new millennium... if his claims are indeed true.
Proof of Heaven by Neurosurgeon Eban Alexander MD, PhD
Upon completion of this book (13 Apr 2017) I didn't know quite what to think of the good doctor's journey into the unknown. It seemed more like hell than it did heaven. I experienced the same feeling of spiritual betrayal that I had after watching director Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988) starring Michael Keaton. Such an existential emptiness... I felt sorry for impressionable youth exposed to such cinematic heresy.
On 13 Apr 2017, I wrote a letter to Dr. Eban Alexander - hoping against all hope he would reply. But he didn't. The letter comments:
Regarding your decision, doctor, to use "Om", I propose the Hebrew Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey or YHVH more accurately conveys the nature of the Self-Existent One. I propose that Prince of Egypt, Moshe, knew precisely why he chose that triple verb conjugation of hayah (to be; exist). Defined, it means essentially "I was, I am, I always will be." There is no gender assignment. It is spirit. It defies concepts of time and space, as you experienced, and later tried to explain in words that seemed inadequate, the "awe of the Core". In my opinion, it is the universal connectedness of everything, as you suggested... as quark mechanics theorizes.
Doctor, there is much more depth to Judaism than what is presented to the world; so too the Jewish Rabbi bearing the name of Yesha-Yah-u (meaning, the liberation of spirit provided by YHVH).
In 2014, I was near death but came back. Why? I don't know for sure but I think my small army of prayer warriors had something to do with it.
Academically, I am no one special. I am not a worldly success story by any stretch. Still, I feel a certain kinsmanship with you because of our experiential similarities.
There was a secondary formal name the Deity conveyed to Moshe. It was, "Aehyeh Asher Aehyeh" meaning "I am continually becoming what I am becoming". To most people that would seem like gibberish but I have a hunch you understand exactly what it means.
On 13 Apr 2017, I wrote a letter to Dr. Eban Alexander - hoping against all hope he would reply. But he didn't. The letter comments:
Regarding your decision, doctor, to use "Om", I propose the Hebrew Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey or YHVH more accurately conveys the nature of the Self-Existent One. I propose that Prince of Egypt, Moshe, knew precisely why he chose that triple verb conjugation of hayah (to be; exist). Defined, it means essentially "I was, I am, I always will be." There is no gender assignment. It is spirit. It defies concepts of time and space, as you experienced, and later tried to explain in words that seemed inadequate, the "awe of the Core". In my opinion, it is the universal connectedness of everything, as you suggested... as quark mechanics theorizes.
Doctor, there is much more depth to Judaism than what is presented to the world; so too the Jewish Rabbi bearing the name of Yesha-Yah-u (meaning, the liberation of spirit provided by YHVH).
In 2014, I was near death but came back. Why? I don't know for sure but I think my small army of prayer warriors had something to do with it.
Academically, I am no one special. I am not a worldly success story by any stretch. Still, I feel a certain kinsmanship with you because of our experiential similarities.
There was a secondary formal name the Deity conveyed to Moshe. It was, "Aehyeh Asher Aehyeh" meaning "I am continually becoming what I am becoming". To most people that would seem like gibberish but I have a hunch you understand exactly what it means.
March 11, 2019
Happiness
Happiness could not be discerned if it were a constant. We only recognize and thereby appreciate it when it manifests – as it always does – in moments. Only contentment has a fighting chance of becoming a permanent state of being. Basically it is in the striving for ecstatic moments that we fine tune our minds and sensitize our hearts toward that valiant goal, just as all ideologists find dignity in attempting to bring into full existence their cherished visions.
Cheaters attempt to circumnavigate responsibility via psychotropic drugs, excessive alcohol consumption and promiscuous sexual encounters. Such delusionists may experience a temporary but false joy but not a genuine reorganization of mental paradigms that create true and long-lasting contentment.
Gerald Logan-MacLennon, 62,
2009 Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Cheaters attempt to circumnavigate responsibility via psychotropic drugs, excessive alcohol consumption and promiscuous sexual encounters. Such delusionists may experience a temporary but false joy but not a genuine reorganization of mental paradigms that create true and long-lasting contentment.
Gerald Logan-MacLennon, 62,
2009 Rio Grande Valley, Texas
March 10, 2019
Lebenswertes Leben / Life Unworthy of Life
9 Mar 2019
Yesterday afternoon, Sandra and I went to the university's cinema arts theatre to view the 3 hour 4 minute, NEVER LOOK AWAY [2018 German with English subtitles] the latest offering by award-winning Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Central theme of the movie is Adolf Hitler's eugenics initiative on his own people called Lebenswertes Leben (Life unworthy of Life) and how it effected three generations of one eastern German family, the Seebands, who lived under National Socialist (Nazi) rule, then German Communism and finally the freedom of the west.
As a Registered Nurse, Sandra was intrigued by the methodology used to convince physicians of established and respected medical institutions that patients born with special needs, irreversible brain trauma, autism, Downs syndrome, dementia and all similar conditions are a burden to society therefore better for everyone if euthanized; that institutionalized mental patients, the feeble minded and those incapable of proper parenting were unnecessary hindrances to Germany's quest to purify the Aryan race and thereby create models of human perfection which in turn, created perfect families for the prophesied thousand year Reich.
Ironically, that goal turned out to be the epitome of insanity. It was precursor to Hitler's "Final Solution". And... it employed the same two words, Lebenswertes Leben, when describing Jews... and then Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, political enemies, unionists, evangelical Christians, the list went on and on.
Lebensunwertes Leben were the words of Adolf Hitler. Life unworthy of Life
Sandra: Wow......what words! Thinking about this a lot. Ethically I believe all life has value even when we sometimes can’t see it. If God created it, it must be worthy and respected. I still think I would favor sterilization over abortion in regard to people incapable of proper parenting. Huge ethical dilemma. What part does satan play in this?
Gerald: There are certain homo sapiens sapiens who by their heinous acts relinquish their membership in the human race: men who rape, torture and murder children; men who slowly decapitate infidels with a pocket knife in front of a video camera; men who kidnap women and then traffic them like cattle as they're sexually tormented; men who declare a certain segment of the human race to be sub-human and Lebensunwertes Leben... such men in positions of power who misuse and abuse that power... they have given up their human being card.
Yet, too often they never pay for their transgressions, for example, Professor and Director of the Medical Institute, Dr. Karl Seeband, in the movie, NEVER LOOK AWAY. He hideously misused the power granted him. As was pointed out by his own daughter, Elisabeth, nicknamed Ellie. Papa was first and foremost a physician and as such was supposed to heal people not hurt them... but because he did not want to disobey his higher-ups nor the Fuhrer... because he did not want to die, and because he looked so damned good in that SS uniform, he condemned hundreds, maybe thousands of other people to die.
In truth, such evil men are themselves lives unworthy of life. As I wrote in Wrestling with Angels: an anthology, in my never-to-be humble opinion, I submit that human beings are the angels of good but also the demons and fallen angels of our existence. Judaism calls the negative side "the evil inclination."
And, in the interest of time, to quickly sum it up, I think that's why we need a benevolent spiritual power greater than ourselves to save us from ourselves.
By the way, Sandra, I agree with you when you say "I still think I would favor sterilization over abortion in regard to people incapable of proper parenting."
Sandra: The very essence of the Hippocratic Oath is “DO NO HARM”. Papa Karl’s dedication to Hitler and the “Fatherland” was greater than his dedication to the profession. And he also wanted to save his own skin. Looking at it from his perspective, can you blame him? He knew what happened to those who disobeyed orders. Maybe there can be some shred of sympathy for him. Maybe not.
He betrayed his own daughter in favor of creating the pure and perfect Aryan race. He may have healed but yes he also hurt and he violated the oath he swore to. Dr. Karl Seeband was also quite full of himself in that Nazi uniform. It made him feel powerful.
And you know what happens when the power of hate is so strong. Love can’t win. But in the end... love always wins. But sometimes the power of hate has wrecked so much havoc that despair and hopelessness sets in.
####
Yesterday afternoon, Sandra and I went to the university's cinema arts theatre to view the 3 hour 4 minute, NEVER LOOK AWAY [2018 German with English subtitles] the latest offering by award-winning Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Central theme of the movie is Adolf Hitler's eugenics initiative on his own people called Lebenswertes Leben (Life unworthy of Life) and how it effected three generations of one eastern German family, the Seebands, who lived under National Socialist (Nazi) rule, then German Communism and finally the freedom of the west.
As a Registered Nurse, Sandra was intrigued by the methodology used to convince physicians of established and respected medical institutions that patients born with special needs, irreversible brain trauma, autism, Downs syndrome, dementia and all similar conditions are a burden to society therefore better for everyone if euthanized; that institutionalized mental patients, the feeble minded and those incapable of proper parenting were unnecessary hindrances to Germany's quest to purify the Aryan race and thereby create models of human perfection which in turn, created perfect families for the prophesied thousand year Reich.
Ironically, that goal turned out to be the epitome of insanity. It was precursor to Hitler's "Final Solution". And... it employed the same two words, Lebenswertes Leben, when describing Jews... and then Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, political enemies, unionists, evangelical Christians, the list went on and on.
Lebensunwertes Leben were the words of Adolf Hitler. Life unworthy of Life
Sandra: Wow......what words! Thinking about this a lot. Ethically I believe all life has value even when we sometimes can’t see it. If God created it, it must be worthy and respected. I still think I would favor sterilization over abortion in regard to people incapable of proper parenting. Huge ethical dilemma. What part does satan play in this?
Gerald: There are certain homo sapiens sapiens who by their heinous acts relinquish their membership in the human race: men who rape, torture and murder children; men who slowly decapitate infidels with a pocket knife in front of a video camera; men who kidnap women and then traffic them like cattle as they're sexually tormented; men who declare a certain segment of the human race to be sub-human and Lebensunwertes Leben... such men in positions of power who misuse and abuse that power... they have given up their human being card.
Yet, too often they never pay for their transgressions, for example, Professor and Director of the Medical Institute, Dr. Karl Seeband, in the movie, NEVER LOOK AWAY. He hideously misused the power granted him. As was pointed out by his own daughter, Elisabeth, nicknamed Ellie. Papa was first and foremost a physician and as such was supposed to heal people not hurt them... but because he did not want to disobey his higher-ups nor the Fuhrer... because he did not want to die, and because he looked so damned good in that SS uniform, he condemned hundreds, maybe thousands of other people to die.
In truth, such evil men are themselves lives unworthy of life. As I wrote in Wrestling with Angels: an anthology, in my never-to-be humble opinion, I submit that human beings are the angels of good but also the demons and fallen angels of our existence. Judaism calls the negative side "the evil inclination."
And, in the interest of time, to quickly sum it up, I think that's why we need a benevolent spiritual power greater than ourselves to save us from ourselves.
By the way, Sandra, I agree with you when you say "I still think I would favor sterilization over abortion in regard to people incapable of proper parenting."
Sandra: The very essence of the Hippocratic Oath is “DO NO HARM”. Papa Karl’s dedication to Hitler and the “Fatherland” was greater than his dedication to the profession. And he also wanted to save his own skin. Looking at it from his perspective, can you blame him? He knew what happened to those who disobeyed orders. Maybe there can be some shred of sympathy for him. Maybe not.
He betrayed his own daughter in favor of creating the pure and perfect Aryan race. He may have healed but yes he also hurt and he violated the oath he swore to. Dr. Karl Seeband was also quite full of himself in that Nazi uniform. It made him feel powerful.
And you know what happens when the power of hate is so strong. Love can’t win. But in the end... love always wins. But sometimes the power of hate has wrecked so much havoc that despair and hopelessness sets in.
####
February 13, 2019
Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the Human Species
PAUL HELLYER
Beams of Light from a Well-Respected Statesman
Unlike our Asian counterparts, the West often fails to accord our wise elders the honor they deserve - the status they have earned by devoting their lives to love of, and service to humankind. Paul Hellyer of Canada is one such man. Born in 1923, he is very much a hero of the 20th century; yet he continues his vigorous momentum into the new century, preparing youth for the hopes and challenges that lie ahead.
As former Minister of Defense for Canada and cabinet member during both the Pearson and Trudeau administrations, Hellyer is certain that technology currently exists to replace the ecologically-destructive world oil economy. He argues that, while difficult and financially threatening to "big oil," a gradual transition can, and must be implemented post haste, warning that ten years is just about all the time we have left before the ecological damage to our planet becomes irreversible.
"Failure to disclose a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels," he writes, "is worse than a crime against humanity. It's a crime against creation and the Creator."
His book speaks volumes about crimes against planet Earth. He investigates them from many perspectives, laying out charges against perpetrators, and in his wisdom, offers rehabilitation plans to assure today's youth that they will inherit a world redeemed from near destruction.
Minister Hellyer reminds his American readers of the long-standing economic dirty tricks, the incessant meddling in the internal affairs of other nations and myriads of injustices carried out by the United States government under the banner of democracy, freedom and, ironically, peace - also that, because of U.S. news media collusion, such outrages rarely reach the eyes and ears of the average Yankee.
"If President George W. Bush wanted to find the real axis of evil," writes Hellyer, "he had only look at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the World Trade Organization."
Calling the IMF and World Bank the enforcers of globalization, he explains how they "beat the bejeebers out of any country that won't accept the Washington Consensus and open its borders to rape and pillage by international banks and multinational corporations. The Enforcers work hand in glove with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (DOT) and Wall Street, for which the DOT is an agent."
In the very first chapters, author Hellyer, plunges into a heretofore taboo subject. He speaks openly about how our world has been visited extensively for six decades by entities of advanced intelligence from other worlds. He stands bravely alone as the world's highest-ranking government official to shine a beam of light on this ET presence that has lurked in the shadows of the tabloid world for far too long.
Over 500 atmospheric nuclear weapon detonations occurred between 1945 and 1960. Airborne radioactive dust from the Nevada testing site fell on most of America's heartland, the Rocky Mountain States and southern portions of Alberta and Ontario. Full extent of the damage to human, animal and plant life may never be known.
The intense flash produced by the detonation of those bombs traveled millions of kilometers across outer space, crossing the trade routes of our galaxy. Inadvertently, said flashes became warning signals to technologically-advanced space travelers that we human beings are now so smart we know how to annihilate all life on our planet including us. Any federation of planets - and there must be at least one in our sector of the universe - upon receiving our unintended clarion call would be duty-bound to come investigate just what "the naked apes on the blue planet" are up to now.
Without saying so directly, Mister Hellyer hints that since their arrival en masse around 1947, our Visitors have been studying us for any number of possible reasons, hopefully one is to ascertain if a generous portion of humanity may be worthy of salvation because of our ability to manifest the virtue called `love' - which in all likelihood is universal, sans boundaries of time, space and dimensions.
The book is subtitled "A Survival Plan for the Human Species" because Hellyer indentifies the greatest barriers to love and compassion currently existing on earth. He seeks to bring us to the realization that such barriers can and must be broken but only if we collectively begin work now to right our wrongs.
The barriers are:
1. Absence of love because of our differences in race, religion, philosophy, world view and political ideology. By example, in Chapter 2, he focuses on the existing animosities in he Holy Land between the descendants of Abraham (the Jews and Arabs) and those who claim to be followers of the Prince of Peace and Prophet of Love, Jesus.
2. Fundamentalist adherence to sacred books that have been incorrectly copied and translated - one example being the Gospel of John in the Christian New Testament, the interpretation of which has justified anti-Jewish persecution over the past two millennia - culminating with the greatest of all persecutions, genocide from 1939 through 1945. During the Holocaust, over six million Jewish men, woman and children were heartlessly murdered.
3. The universal worship of Mammon (money) in lieu of practicing tzadik v'khesed (righteousness and loving-kindness); to wit, bowing down before the altar of wealth, avarice, and greed combined with a willingness to perform any heinous act, including murder, to acquire more riches and power.
Hellyer paraphrases the words of the Christ, "You cannot love God and Mammon. You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other."
The Worshipers of Mammon, says the author, are the godless of all nationalities, races and ethnicities who exalt personal wealth and power above all else - men and women sans conscience, blinded to seeing nothing beyond their own immediate financial gratification. As a world-class economist for over 50 years, Minister Hellyer, having participated in many policy-making conferences at national and international levels, now advocates a non-violent overthrow of the current world system of economics because it has failed the citizenry time and again.
Hellyer knows that adherents to the cult of Mammon intentionally repress the poor nations of the world, allowing them no opportunity to develop due to ruthless economic tactics that drain the natural resources of such countries with no payment or reward to the poor citizen, only the ruling elite.
He boldly points out that our current world economy is dominated primarily by the governing powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the multinational corporate elite... for these puppeteers there is no such word as `love.' Keeping the current, highly flawed economic system afloat necessitates periodic recessions and depressions and continual warfare - conditions that may not harm the rich and powerful but create massive devastation on we, the so-called little people, as one British Petroleum spokesman recently described us.
It's a diabolical system, Hellyer writes, that penalizes compassion and exalts greed. Who suffers the most? Answer: the meek, the peacemakers, the honest; and average families who request nothing more than fair treatment and a hopeful tomorrow for their children.
Also in Chapter 9, "Ending the World Financial Crisis," Mister Hellyer explains in layman's terms the economic errors leading up to the panic of 2008. If nothing else, this book is well worth the price for its information regarding global economics.
Such are the problems of the human race delineated in "Light at the End of the Tunnel." Where Hellyer differs from mere prophets of doom, is that he offers up a step by step "Political Agenda" in Chapter 10 of his book that, if activated, would set in motion a rapid reversal of the errors and evils of the status quo.
In the final analysis, Paul Hellyer's greatest differentiation from other authors on current affairs is that he asks us to imagine how we must be perceived by our extraterrestrial visitors. Observing our violent nature, do they regard us as a little backwater species not much smarter than our hairy cousins who swing from vine to vine in the lush green rain forests? Hellyer points out that the ET's have been studying us for at least 63 years, possibly hundreds or thousands. No doubt they find us entertaining - something akin to a galactic soap opera. We are pathetic, funny, maddening, silly, disgusting and, we can only hope that - in that name of all that is decent - they find some of us worthy of perpetuation.
Other reviewers may comment, "I didn't read all of that in Paul Hellyer's `Light at the End of the Tunnel.'"
As a concerned world citizen, lagging just one generation behind the former Defense Minister, I say, "Ah, but you failed to read between the lines."
-- Gerald E Logan d/b/a Gerald MacLennon
Paperback, 320 pages
Published April 13th 2010 by Authorhouse
Original Title
Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the Human Species
ISBN
1449076122 (ISBN13: 9781449076122)
Edition Language
English
Other Editions (2)
Beams of Light from a Well-Respected Statesman
Unlike our Asian counterparts, the West often fails to accord our wise elders the honor they deserve - the status they have earned by devoting their lives to love of, and service to humankind. Paul Hellyer of Canada is one such man. Born in 1923, he is very much a hero of the 20th century; yet he continues his vigorous momentum into the new century, preparing youth for the hopes and challenges that lie ahead.
As former Minister of Defense for Canada and cabinet member during both the Pearson and Trudeau administrations, Hellyer is certain that technology currently exists to replace the ecologically-destructive world oil economy. He argues that, while difficult and financially threatening to "big oil," a gradual transition can, and must be implemented post haste, warning that ten years is just about all the time we have left before the ecological damage to our planet becomes irreversible.
"Failure to disclose a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels," he writes, "is worse than a crime against humanity. It's a crime against creation and the Creator."
His book speaks volumes about crimes against planet Earth. He investigates them from many perspectives, laying out charges against perpetrators, and in his wisdom, offers rehabilitation plans to assure today's youth that they will inherit a world redeemed from near destruction.
Minister Hellyer reminds his American readers of the long-standing economic dirty tricks, the incessant meddling in the internal affairs of other nations and myriads of injustices carried out by the United States government under the banner of democracy, freedom and, ironically, peace - also that, because of U.S. news media collusion, such outrages rarely reach the eyes and ears of the average Yankee.
"If President George W. Bush wanted to find the real axis of evil," writes Hellyer, "he had only look at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the World Trade Organization."
Calling the IMF and World Bank the enforcers of globalization, he explains how they "beat the bejeebers out of any country that won't accept the Washington Consensus and open its borders to rape and pillage by international banks and multinational corporations. The Enforcers work hand in glove with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (DOT) and Wall Street, for which the DOT is an agent."
In the very first chapters, author Hellyer, plunges into a heretofore taboo subject. He speaks openly about how our world has been visited extensively for six decades by entities of advanced intelligence from other worlds. He stands bravely alone as the world's highest-ranking government official to shine a beam of light on this ET presence that has lurked in the shadows of the tabloid world for far too long.
Over 500 atmospheric nuclear weapon detonations occurred between 1945 and 1960. Airborne radioactive dust from the Nevada testing site fell on most of America's heartland, the Rocky Mountain States and southern portions of Alberta and Ontario. Full extent of the damage to human, animal and plant life may never be known.
The intense flash produced by the detonation of those bombs traveled millions of kilometers across outer space, crossing the trade routes of our galaxy. Inadvertently, said flashes became warning signals to technologically-advanced space travelers that we human beings are now so smart we know how to annihilate all life on our planet including us. Any federation of planets - and there must be at least one in our sector of the universe - upon receiving our unintended clarion call would be duty-bound to come investigate just what "the naked apes on the blue planet" are up to now.
Without saying so directly, Mister Hellyer hints that since their arrival en masse around 1947, our Visitors have been studying us for any number of possible reasons, hopefully one is to ascertain if a generous portion of humanity may be worthy of salvation because of our ability to manifest the virtue called `love' - which in all likelihood is universal, sans boundaries of time, space and dimensions.
The book is subtitled "A Survival Plan for the Human Species" because Hellyer indentifies the greatest barriers to love and compassion currently existing on earth. He seeks to bring us to the realization that such barriers can and must be broken but only if we collectively begin work now to right our wrongs.
The barriers are:
1. Absence of love because of our differences in race, religion, philosophy, world view and political ideology. By example, in Chapter 2, he focuses on the existing animosities in he Holy Land between the descendants of Abraham (the Jews and Arabs) and those who claim to be followers of the Prince of Peace and Prophet of Love, Jesus.
2. Fundamentalist adherence to sacred books that have been incorrectly copied and translated - one example being the Gospel of John in the Christian New Testament, the interpretation of which has justified anti-Jewish persecution over the past two millennia - culminating with the greatest of all persecutions, genocide from 1939 through 1945. During the Holocaust, over six million Jewish men, woman and children were heartlessly murdered.
3. The universal worship of Mammon (money) in lieu of practicing tzadik v'khesed (righteousness and loving-kindness); to wit, bowing down before the altar of wealth, avarice, and greed combined with a willingness to perform any heinous act, including murder, to acquire more riches and power.
Hellyer paraphrases the words of the Christ, "You cannot love God and Mammon. You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other."
The Worshipers of Mammon, says the author, are the godless of all nationalities, races and ethnicities who exalt personal wealth and power above all else - men and women sans conscience, blinded to seeing nothing beyond their own immediate financial gratification. As a world-class economist for over 50 years, Minister Hellyer, having participated in many policy-making conferences at national and international levels, now advocates a non-violent overthrow of the current world system of economics because it has failed the citizenry time and again.
Hellyer knows that adherents to the cult of Mammon intentionally repress the poor nations of the world, allowing them no opportunity to develop due to ruthless economic tactics that drain the natural resources of such countries with no payment or reward to the poor citizen, only the ruling elite.
He boldly points out that our current world economy is dominated primarily by the governing powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the multinational corporate elite... for these puppeteers there is no such word as `love.' Keeping the current, highly flawed economic system afloat necessitates periodic recessions and depressions and continual warfare - conditions that may not harm the rich and powerful but create massive devastation on we, the so-called little people, as one British Petroleum spokesman recently described us.
It's a diabolical system, Hellyer writes, that penalizes compassion and exalts greed. Who suffers the most? Answer: the meek, the peacemakers, the honest; and average families who request nothing more than fair treatment and a hopeful tomorrow for their children.
Also in Chapter 9, "Ending the World Financial Crisis," Mister Hellyer explains in layman's terms the economic errors leading up to the panic of 2008. If nothing else, this book is well worth the price for its information regarding global economics.
Such are the problems of the human race delineated in "Light at the End of the Tunnel." Where Hellyer differs from mere prophets of doom, is that he offers up a step by step "Political Agenda" in Chapter 10 of his book that, if activated, would set in motion a rapid reversal of the errors and evils of the status quo.
In the final analysis, Paul Hellyer's greatest differentiation from other authors on current affairs is that he asks us to imagine how we must be perceived by our extraterrestrial visitors. Observing our violent nature, do they regard us as a little backwater species not much smarter than our hairy cousins who swing from vine to vine in the lush green rain forests? Hellyer points out that the ET's have been studying us for at least 63 years, possibly hundreds or thousands. No doubt they find us entertaining - something akin to a galactic soap opera. We are pathetic, funny, maddening, silly, disgusting and, we can only hope that - in that name of all that is decent - they find some of us worthy of perpetuation.
Other reviewers may comment, "I didn't read all of that in Paul Hellyer's `Light at the End of the Tunnel.'"
As a concerned world citizen, lagging just one generation behind the former Defense Minister, I say, "Ah, but you failed to read between the lines."
-- Gerald E Logan d/b/a Gerald MacLennon
Paperback, 320 pages
Published April 13th 2010 by Authorhouse
Original Title
Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the Human Species
ISBN
1449076122 (ISBN13: 9781449076122)
Edition Language
English
Other Editions (2)
